The Small Titan
by CerenbusSnapeMalfoy
Summary: Captain Levi Ackerman had gone missing in action. His squad, assuming him dead, return home, saddened by his passing. Levi is in fact on the journey of a lifetime. Wounded, with a broken weapon, without his gear and without a horse, his chances of survival are considerably lessened until he stumbles across an unexpected alley.
1. Chapter 1

Captain Levi Ackerman had gone missing in action.

The Special Operations Squad had been out on their fifty seventh expedition, which had been going smoothly until she appeared. The female titan. Picking off their members one-by-one and seemed hell bent on going after Eren, one of the members they could not afford to lose.

One moment, Eren had been racing his mount on the heels of Levi's, and the next, the female titan had jumped, her large foot slamming into the ground and separating the two when Eren's horse reared and swerved to avoid crashing into the skinless leg.

Terrified, but ready to fight, Eren glanced over his shoulder, noting that the others were having trouble getting their horses to obey them, the poor creatures scattering like ants under the female titans angrily stomping feet. There was a great, deafening sound, like cannonfire, but Eren was too far off the path to know what the sound was or where it was coming from.

Petra and Oluo were just behind him, but the others went in entirely different directions. Eren turned his eyes back ahead, scanning for Levi but he was gone. He had either been smashed under the female titans' foot, or had just narrowly avoided such a terrible fate and had continued on the wide path. If so, their paths would cross in the next ten seconds. The path Eren currently took was narrow and full of bushes and low branches that threatened to knock him from the saddle, nearly impassable, but his horse was thundering over the bumpy ground like it was a smooth street, too terror-stricken to care where it placed its hooves.

Just five more seconds, and Eren would be able to get back on the main path, back to captain Levi… four… three… two… one.

Levi wasn't there.

Feeling slightly panicked for a moment, Eren got a hold of himself as his horse dove back onto the wider path, and his eyes turned back to the others, who were not far behind him. The female titan had disappeared. One moment she'd been crashing through the trees behind them, and the next it was like she'd never even been.

"Where did she go!?" Eren cried to Petra, who was now riding alongside him, her eyes rather wide.

"I don't know! She was just behind us a moment ago, I didn't notice when she disappeared!" She called back, and slowly pulled up on her horse.

Eren didn't pull back until a moment later, and was somewhat ahead of the others now, turning his panting horse around and trotting back to them. They stood there in the middle of the path, looking around in confusion.

"Should we continue with the mission? Where's Levi, Eld and Gunther?" Oluo asked, having to pull back on his reins, as his horse looked ready to bolt, trying to get the bit between its teeth.

"Eren, your horse is hurt!" Petra interrupted, hopping down and handing her reins to Oluo.

Eren bent over in the saddle, then also hopped down.

"Are you guys crazy, don't get off your horses!" Olou cried, looking around wildly as if he thought the female titan would appear out of nowhere. The forest was silent.

Indeed, Eren's horse had a very deep, bleeding wound on her knee. "If you keep running her she'll probably give out." Petra said, worriedly feeling of the horse's leg, which was warm and swollen.

"Well this is just great." Olou commented, shifting in the saddle. "Should I signal that the mission is failed?"

Petra looked uncertain for a moment. "But Captain Levi said to keep pushing forward!"

"For how long?! The titan's disappeared, Levi's missing, the right wing's been wiped out! The mission is failed!" Eren protested.

"Look, you two can sit here and argue it out until the female titan shows up again, but I'm not sitting around to get eaten!" Olou cried. He turned his horse around, trotting back a few paces and was intercepted by Eld.

"What are you stopping for? Push forward some more and hitch your horses. We've captured the female titan." He told them.

"Eld, have you seen Levi?" Petra asked, climbing back onto her mount.

Eld looked at her with slightly widened eyes. "He's not with you?"

"N-no. We were separated, he was just ahead of me, I thought…" Eren trailed off, looking horrified. "He's been smashed by the female titan!" He cried.

"No! He can't have been!" Petra cried, looking distraught. She and the others hurried back despite their orders to keep moving forward, gasping as they looked upon the female titan, standing there, covered in harpoons. "Captain Levi?" Petra called, going around the female titan, scouts running to and fro, shouting to one another.

"Commander Erwin!" Eld called, spotting the commander in a tree. "Have you seen Captain Levi?"

Erwin looked down, then used his gear to lower himself to the ground, brow furrowed. "No." He responded. "He's not with your team?"

"We were separated, he didn't join us when we regrouped." Oluo supplied.

Erwin looked troubled for a moment. "Perhaps his horse bolted with him. We can't assume anything else for now, just keep an eye out for him and-" Erwin was interrupted when the female titan began shrieking, letting out ear-splitting, ground-shaking, unearthly wails that rattled their bones.

"What the hell is she doing?" Oluo cried, covering his ears.

"Were those like death throws or something?"

"They're coming. I can smell them." Mike Zacharius interrupted.

"From what direction?" Erwin demanded.

"From every direction. Fast. Dozens."

"Faster on the artillery, gentlemen!" Before Erwin could come to the conclusion on his own, he was answered by a hoard of titans coming after the female one from all sides. "All hands, commence combat! Defend the female titan at all costs!" He roared, using his 3D maneuver gear to go after a titan to his right.

All hell broke loose as the scouts did as they were told, going after the titans and slaughtering dozens of them, but it was useless, there were too many of them. The female titan was lost.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

The mission was a failure, the scouts were ordered to retreat back to the walls.

"But, captain Levi! He's still missing! We can't just leave him!" Petra insisted. "He's too valuable-"

"We can't afford to lose any more scouts looking for him, he'll be considered missing in action, we need to retreat, now!"

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

The return trip was risky, and due to a scout refusing to return home without the body of his fallen friend, they lost the other bodies and a few more scouts. The trip seemed to have been a waste, a terrible, godawful waste. And Levi had still not regrouped with them. The Levi squad had become burdened with grief.

"He was a good soldier." Oluo sighed as they were reentering the walls.

"Don't talk like that, like he's dead! He's just… missing." Petra whispered, tears in her eyes.

"And he isn't just a good soldier, he's the best damn scout we have. He's humanity's strongest soldier." Eld told him strongly. "He was too valuable to leave behind… I wish we had searched better, but there was no time… there were too many titans nearby… if only…"

Eren was silent. Captain Levi _was _humanity's strongest soldier. How were they going to survive without him? And they had lost the female titan, and countless other soldiers. This had not gone well. Not at all.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Meanwhile, Levi stood against the base of a tree, terrible pain shooting through his entire body, holding onto one sword with a bloody hand, the other hand pressed against a bleeding wound in his side. His 3D maneuver gear had been all but annihilated when the female titan nearly stepped on him, knocking him from the saddle. His horse had bolted, with his leg stuck in the stirrup, dragging him for a long way before he fell free.

Now, he was standing in the middle of the forest, panting, eyes darting in every direction, his trembling hold on his broken blade tightening as he heard sounds around him. Wounded, with a broken weapon, without his gear and without a horse even he had slim chances of taking on a titan should one stumble across him. His best bet was to avoid encountering one at all costs.

Grunting in pain, he stumbled, continuing to slowly make his way through the forest. He had to get back to the scout regiment before they made for home. It was a morbid thought. Being left behind, alone like this. He grit his teeth together, falling against a tree and panting, looking down at his wound. He couldn't keep going for much longer. It didn't help matters that thanks to the stirrup, his ankle had been twisted pretty badly.

Levi turned slowly, his sharp eyes darting in every direction. A titan was nearby. He could hear its heavy feet. It sounded smaller than an average titan. Or perhaps it simply wasn't as near as it sounded.

Levi's mind briefly wandered to the sounds he had heard earlier. The cannonfire – the harpoons. The shrieking – if he had to take an educated guess, he'd say that had been the mole protesting. He wondered if the mission had been a success. From where he was, he hadn't been able to see any smoke signals. If they had ordered a retreat yet, he wouldn't have been able to see it.

Drawn from his thoughts once more by strange sounds, Levi pressed himself against the tree, estimating that there was a titan just behind it, based on the shadow he now saw. How had it approached so silently!? Those great lumbering beasts normally made such a racket. This was either an abnormally small titan or simply and abnormal in general.

Levi weighed his options. He could hug the tree until the titan walked away, and hope it didn't smell him. That was pretty much the only realistic option he could think of. Running was not an option. His wound paired with his twisted ankle made it difficult to even stand, let alone run from or fight the thing.

Breathing as shallowly as possible, Levi clutched the handle of the only blade he was left with, which had broken nearly at the base. It was shorter than an average dagger. It wouldn't be much use to him, but it was all he had. His other blades had been smashed to bits with his gear. He pressed his back against the tree, slowly sliding along the base of it, keeping his eyes on the shadow which was slowly moving closer. If he could creep silently along the side of the tree and get to the other side of it, the titan, stupid, should walk by without noticing him. He prayed the blood covering him wouldn't make his scent stronger, though he knew better than to believe it didn't.

Levi's heart leapt out of his chest when unexpectedly a hand, a rather small titan hand, shorter from wrist to fingertips than he was tall, reached around the tree and grabbed him. He reacted quickly, stabbing with the little bit of blade he had left and slicing.

The beast cried out in pain, sounding more human than beast, and dropped him. Levi fell back, catching his first glimpse of the titan that could be no more than two meters, possibly _not even_ two meters, tall. Eyes wide, Levi noted that the titan wore clothing, or what appeared to be such. Simply a large man-made grey blanket with a hole for the head, and a rope tied around his waist as a belt, similarly loose-fitting pants. The titans' expression was pained, and he looked so human in the face that it gave Levi pause.

The creature looked to be a boy, a child, with big black eyes, a head full of shoulder length black hair, and a shockingly lovely face and rather pale skin. For a titan, it was unbelievably human-like. It was the strangest abnormal Levi had ever encountered. He stumbled back, attempting to move away from it. Abnormal as it was, it was still a titan, and he figured it still had a taste for human blood.

"Why did you stab me?"A soft, sad voice asked.

Levi froze again. Had the beast spoken? He turned, clutching his blade, his other hand pressed against his wound. A talking titan, a titan that wore clothing, that was smaller than any other titan he'd ever seen, that looked more human in the face than any other titan, that looked like a small child despite his size. Levi's eyes widened as the titan began to cry, clutching his bleeding hand to his chest.

Levi continued to back away slowly, eyes never leaving the creature, which looked up at him suddenly, then behind him at another titan which was racing for him at full speed. Levi cursed, turning and attempting to run to the trees, his ankle giving out beneath him. He cried out in surprise when the small titan lunged forward, grabbing him with its uninjured hand. The titan was protecting him!? The small titan cradled him like a child would hold a doll, and ran, the bigger titan chasing for a moment before getting left in the dust. The small titan was fast. Very fast.

Levi cringed, clinging to the titan and feeling as though he might soon be dropped, but the small titan did not drop him. The small titan eventually slowed, looking around before holding Levi out in front of him, his large, yet startlingly small hand only big enough to wrap around Levi's midsection, holding him as gently as one would hold a dying bird. "Are you hurt?" The titan asked, his voice oddly soft.

Levi simply stared at him, eyes still rather wide, the broken blade still clutched in his hand.

The titan furrowed his brow, sitting down and slowly reaching towards Levi with his free hand. Levi flinched, but the titan was gentle, using a single finger to stroke back a lock of Levi's hair without jarring his head even a little. "Can you talk?" It asked.

"I… yes…" Levi had lost his composure. It took a lot to do that to him. To say the least, this was a lot. He shook his head, attempting to recover from the shock which he found still had a hold of him. A talking titan, that possessed human intelligence, and was small enough that it could be considered an abnormally large human as easily as it could be considered an abnormally small titan. "What are you?" He asked, his eyes narrow once more. He was slowly regaining his composure, and his guard was still up. The titan didn't seem to want to eat him but… it was still a titan.

"What am I? I don't know, what are you?" It replied with a soft laugh, stroking back a lock of its feathery black hair.

"I'm human." Levi told it strongly. "What are you?"

The titan tipped its head to the side, raising an eyebrow in obvious confusion. "I don't know. Right, so that's what you little people are called. Humans..."

Levi raised his own eyebrow. "What? You don't know what you are?" He asked.

"I… no… not really." It shrugged, gently setting Levi down in his other hand, so the man was sitting in his palm.

"Where did you come from?" Levi asked, a hand going back to his wound, which was burning terribly.

"I don't know. I've lived around here for only a couple moons. I traveled here from that way." He waved vaguely in the opposite direction of the cities within the walls.

"Where did you learn to speak?" Levi asked, glancing at the wound he'd created on the titan's hand, and noting that it was not steaming, nor was it showing signs of healing. He furrowed his brow in thought, turning back to look at the small titans' face.

"I didn't know you had to learn how to speak. I just always have." He responded quietly. "Do you… humans, have names?" He asked, curiously taking hold of Levi's leg with his free hand, but was as gentle as ever. He smoothed his fingers over Levi's knee-high boot, curiously inspecting how tiny the man's leg was compared to his fingers.

Levi flinched again, but tried not to react otherwise. It would do no good to trigger the beast into titan mode. He was still convinced that even this astonishingly gentle titan had one. "Levi." He responded.

"Levi? That's a strange name. My name is Lucerne."

Levi furrowed his brow. "Lucerne…?"

"Like the flower." Lucerne replied with a nod. "Are you injured, Levi?" He gently ran a finger over the blood on Levi's side, and the man winced. Lucerne looked concerned. "Poor human." He murmured sadly.

Levi panted, in pain, looking up at Lucerne, everything he'd ever known, everything he'd ever been told, ever seen and believed was being thrown out the window by this strange titan, this strange… _person. _How could he possibly be a titan? He was so drastically dissimilar to even the most abnormal of titans. "You… don't eat humans?" Levi asked quietly, watching him closely and waiting for his answer.

Lucerne's face twisted slightly. "I want to eat you as badly as you want to eat me, Levi."

"I don't want to eat you even in the slightest."

"Well then there you go." Lucerne smiled at him, his big, lovely black eyes sparkling with amusement.

Levi stared at him for a long moment, then winced, falling back against Lucerne's palm, his eyes closing, his face twisted in pain.

Lucerne's smile vanished. "Please don't die!" He whimpered, his other hand moving to hover over Levi in a protective manner, as if he were shielding him from rain.

Levi laughed quietly, blinking weakly. "I don't think I have much say in the matter… I've lost a lot of blood." He murmured.

"Um… um…" Lucerne looked around wildly. "How can I fix that? What can I do?" He begged, cradling Levi gently against his chest.

"I need to get back to civilization, to doctors." He murmured painfully.

"You mean to the wall? That's a long ways from here. I could get you there, but there's usually a lot of titans around the wall, we'd have trouble getting passed them." Lucerne murmured.

Levi's eyes flashed open. "Did you say titans?" He sat up on his elbows, eyes wide.

"Um… yes?" Lucerne looked confused.

Levi's eyes widened further. "But… you said you aren't aware of what you are…"

Lucerne tipped his head to the side. "I'm... not. I'm just… not a titan."

**AN: So, I've had this storyline playing over in my head for a while now and I finally decided to write it down... let me know what you think, and if you notice any errors please let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

Levi spent the rest of the day being carried around like he was a precious doll, cradled gently in Lucerne's arms. So the boy wasn't a titan… and he wasn't human… so what was he then? Some strange mix of the two? Was the mix even possible?

Levi asked him questions until he began getting drowsy, the sun going down.

"We need rest. Let's camp somewhere." Lucerne commented, running his large thumb gently over Levi's torso, where it had been resting for the past couple hours to keep him from being jostled each time the boy ran from titans. Despite his strength, his touch was light and gentle. He never once hurt Levi.

Levi hesitated, desperately wanting to get to the wall as soon as possible, but he knew that Lucerne was right. Traveling at night would be ideal, due to the fact that most titans would be sleeping, but it just wasn't ideal in any other way. It was dark for one, and that was when other wild animals came out. It was possibly more dangerous than to just outrun the titans during the day.

"Hmm. This looks good." The boy murmured, staring up a large tree.

"You're going to climb it?" Levi asked, surprised, but hiding it well from his voice.

"It would be a lot safer than sleeping on the ground." Lucerne replied, lifting Levi a bit and then gently setting him down inside a pocket on the front of the boy's shirt. Levi shifted a bit until he was comfortable. It felt rather like sitting in a hammock.

Lucerne took hold of the tree, and began expertly climbing it, bypassing the first set of branches for the next, and settling down. Lucerne reached in, taking Levi by the back of his jacket and gently pulling him back out, setting him on one of his knees which he had drawn to his chest. He cupped his hand behind the man protectively to make sure he didn't fall.

"So, is stuff harder or easier to do when you're small?" Lucerne murmured, smiling at him.

Levi shrugged, leaning back tiredly against the boys' hand. "Normal."

Lucerne smiled. "I'd love to be able to shrink to your size. That would be so cool."

"Why would you want to be ordinary?" Levi asked, pressing against his wound tiredly, and Lucerne's smiled vanished. "You are, as you say, neither titan nor human. If you were the size of a human that is what you would be, nothing to discern you from what you are, nothing to make you unique."

Lucerne looked thoughtful. "I guess that makes sense." He smiled, noting how tired Levi looked. He had hoped to talk a bit more, but it was getting dark, and the man looked exhausted. He gently took the man and put him back in his pocket. "Goodnight then, Levi."

Levi sighed and settled back. "Goodnight."

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

On average, Levi only slept two to three hours a night. It wasn't healthy, but it was what he was used to. This night, despite his exhaustion, he was having trouble keeping his eyes shut for more than a few moments before he was jolted awake again. Every time he began to nod off, he was awoken with a start when Lucerne's chest rose and then fell with his rhythmic breathing. Each time he became used to it, and his eyes would begin closing, he'd wake again the next time the boy moved in his sleep.

Frustrated, Levi shifted, feeling a bit suffocated. He winced, sitting up and throwing an arm over the rim of the pocket, which was shallow enough that he could peek out if he stretched enough, without having to stand. He glanced up at Lucerne, who was soundly asleep, then down at the ground below. His eyes slowly moved to the dark horizon. If he stared hard, he could see light in the distance, perhaps from the wall?

Levi sighed softly, longing to go back there. He wondered briefly if he could hold out until then, sliding back down in the pocket and hugging his arms, closing his eyes. He matched his breathing to Lucerne's, and eventually nodded off, dreaming of his squad mates, and daring to trust that all of them had made it home alive.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"Levi squad! You're going out to look for Captain Levi." Erwin announced the next morning. "No one saw him die, therefore he is considered missing in action. He's too instrumental to leave behind. Pray he is still alive."

"Commander Erwin, who is going to be our captain for this expedition?" Petra asked, looking excited by the idea of going out to look for their captain. He was still alive. She just knew it!

"Mikasa Ackerman." Erwin replied, and the Levi squad gasped in unison.

"The newbie?" Oluo cried. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"With all due respect, sir, she's reckless-" Eld began.

"And Armin Arlert. They will be joint captains, her strength and his strategic mind-"

"But sir, you're sticking two newbies together isn't going to magically make them into one good captain." Gunther protested, looking irritated.

"We can hardly even afford to send the entire Levi squad out just to rescue one man, no matter how invaluable he is to us. Sticking you with two less valuable but still competent scouts is the best we can do for now. You have my permission to gainsay any of their orders that you find too reckless or not thought out enough, but trust me when I say that you won't be disappointed in their skill."

The Levi squad shared uncertain glances. "Yes, sir." They finally agreed.

"Well this is a bunch of BS." Oluo muttered after the commander left. "Putting us, the elites, under the command of two sniveling little brats fresh out of training? What's the commander thinking?"

"He's thinking that we need to get captain Levi back if he's still alive, and that he can't spare us as it is, but he's letting us go anyway. This is his best tactical option, like he said, to keep from putting too many good scouts at risk just for one man." Gunther responded with a sigh.

"Would you stop with that 'if' stuff!" Petra cried. "He's still alive. He has to be…" She sighed softly, her shoulders drooping.

Gunther put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him. We'll bring him home. Even _if… _he's not as alive as we hope and pray he is." He murmured gently.

Petra stared up at him, then sighed, nodding. She looked up to Captain Levi. She was so despising the idea of finding his dead body… She shook her head. "You be realistic, I'll be optimistic for a change." She told them strongly. "We're going to find him. Alive."

"Well… your confidence is catching, at least." Gunther said, some of her optimism starting to rub off on him. He just couldn't picture the captain being dead. I mean, he was _Captain Levi._ "Let's go then."

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"So you're the tender infants they're lumping us with, are you?" Oluo muttered when a tall raven haired girl and a smaller blonde boy grouped with them at the stables.

"Lay off, Oluo, they have to be worth their salt if commander Erwin personally vouches for their skill." Eld murmured. He was more than a little put-off that commander Erwin had put these two in charge rather than let him, the second in command, take over as captain until Levi was recovered. However… it didn't quite matter who was in charge. He had the right to gainsay their judgment at any time if he thought for any reason it wasn't sound. Their goal was to get Levi back, not make names for themselves.

"I-I'm honored to be picked for such a mission… but as I said to Commander Erwin, I don't think I'm cut out to be a leader-" Armin said, standing up straight and saluting the others.

Mikasa glanced at him sideways, looking as stoic as usual. "You'll be fine."

"It's alright brat, you're just here as a place-holder anyway. Once we get Captain Levi back there won't be any need for you to play chief." Oluo ruffled the boy's blonde hair in a condescending manner.

"What makes you think he's still alive?" Mikasa murmured, and the others looked at her in surprise. "Think about it logically. He's been out there all night. Even if he was alive when we left, it's doubtful he still is now."

"You're underestimating his skill!" Petra cried.

"And you're overestimating it! He's good but he's just one man in a world full of dangerous things. If he was as good as everyone held him up to be, then he would have regrouped with you right away, not gone wandering off and getting himself left behind." Mikasa growled, still holding a boulder-sized grudge against the man for beating the freckles off Eren after they found out about his special power.

"Now hold on, we don't know what happened, his horse could have spooked, he could have been injured, I doubt he strayed off on purpose." Petra responded strongly, defending her caption.

Mikasa looked ready to retort, but Armin put a hand on her shoulder. "Cut it out, guys! Arguing isn't going to help us find the captain!"

"Okay, I see some of the commanders' logic now. Arlert is the only one this loose cannon will listen to." Gunther muttered, climbing into the saddle. "Now quit your childish bickering, we need to get out there ASAP, we don't know what kind of condition Captain Levi is in."

Petra obeyed immediately, seeing the sense in Gunthers' words. Mikasa gave them all a quick glare before getting on her own horse, still fuming.

"Hey, how come green horn isn't coming with us? Why does he get to slack off while we go risk life and limb?" Oluo asked, climbing onto his mount.

"He's too valuable. We don't need to be worrying about keeping him safe while we're out there. Our main focus is on finding Captain Levi." Petra kicked her horse into a trot, and the others followed.

"This counts as our fifty-eighth expedition, right? I don't want to have to repeat this again later if it doesn't." Oluo called as the gate was being lifted.

"Would you worry about that later?" Gunther cried, kicking his horse into a gallop, the others following suit.

The heavy gate closed behind them quickly, and now, they were in titan country.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

On the first day they traveled together, it had been Levi that asked all the questions. This time, it was Lucerne that asked questions about humanity and life inside the walls.

"So you never told me why you were out here." Lucerne looked down at him, then back at where he was going, his eyes constantly sweeping back and forth. He was always on the alert, ready to run should a titan appear.

"I told you already, I can't talk about it. Military secrets." Levi muttered.

"Like I have anyone to tell." Lucerne laughed. "Alright then, keep your lips zipped if it so pleases you. Hmm. So… why did your friends leave you behind? That seems kind of… awful."

"They couldn't risk losing any more men just to search for me. They made a good call, even if I wish they'd waited for me just a little bit longer, I wasn't that far behind them." Levi sighed, his arms folded over his chest. He was gently pinned against Lucerne's hand by the boys' thumb, like a seatbelt.

Lucerne nodded, glancing behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. "I guess that makes sense. Still. So, what's life like inside the wall? I've never gone near it, I heard you throw enormous rocks at titans who try to break in."

"Cannon balls, yes." Levi supplied. "Life inside the walls… hmm." He thought for a moment. "It's about as bloody as it is out here, just with more sugar coating. The strong prey on the weak, and blame the weak for not being strong enough. That's just humanity's way, I guess. Even united by a greater enemy, mankind still hasn't learned to get along."

"Sounds terrible." Lucerne murmured. "My father always told me about little people, who were unfriendly to things unlike themselves… I never dreamed that you were uncivil even with your own race…"

"You have a father?" Levi asked, eyes snapping open.

Lucerne looked down at him. "Of course. Doesn't everybody?"

Levi sighed softly, trying to grow accustomed to the idea that Lucerne was _not _a titan. "So… your species… not titan, not human… you can breed?"

"That's a gross question." Lucerne scrunched up his nose. "But yeah."

"So there's more of you?"

"I thought it was my turn to ask questions?" Lucerne whined, then sighed at the look Levi gave him. "Alright, alright. Yes, we have a village back that way." He waved briefly once again in the opposite direction of the wall. "There's not many of us… mother worries that we'll go extinct soon."

"Then isn't it a bit foolish for you to be out here on your own?" Levi narrowed his eyes.

Lucerne sighed. "No. My children will carry on the line, I'm not worried about that. I wanted to see the world. I didn't want to be stuck there any longer…"

Levi raised his eyebrows. "Children? How old are you, exactly?" Levi asked, curious as to the lifespan of these creatures.

"Ten." Lucerne responded.

Levi flinched. _"Ten _and you already have _children?" _

Lucerne raised an eyebrow. "Why, is that abnormal to humans? When do you have your children?"

"Most wait until they're past adolescence." He muttered.

"Why wait so long? Do your reproductive systems not function properly?" Lucerne looked shocked.

Levi sighed, leaning back against Lucerne's palm. "The average woman is not able to bear children until she's fifteen, sometimes younger, but it's just not safe to give birth that young."

"Fifteen? I can't imagine waiting another five years to continue the chain, we'd be extinct if we went by those rules. Our reproductive systems are fully developed shortly after birth." Lucerne smiled at him. "I'm not the youngest father in my village."

Levi winced at this. It gave a whole new meaning to the saying 'babies having babies'.

"Ah, yes, a stream." Lucerne's voice interrupted Levi's thoughts, and the man looked up, seeing a flowing stream up ahead. Lucerne stopped at it, sitting down on the side and dipping his hand in. "It's cool, but it'll have to do. Need to bath your wounds so they don't become infected." He gently set Levi down and the man wearily unbuttoned his shirt, looking at the wound in his side with an unsettling feeling forcing its way into the pit of his stomach. It was worse than he'd thought.

"That looks bad." Lucerne murmured, leaning down to inspect it, then gently plucking Levi's green cape right from his shoulders. "Need to borrow this." He murmured, plunging it into the stream and soaking it thoroughly, then ringing it out gently with his fingers. "Here, tie the wound. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Levi took his wet cape back, wrapping and securing it around his midsection and sighing as the cool lessened the burn. "Just minor scrapes and bruises, this is what I'm most worried about." He responded tiredly, noting that his ankle still twinged a bit. But with Lucerne carrying him, it had gotten time to rest, it was feeling much better.

Lucerne nodded, cupping his hands in the stream and raising the water to his lips, drinking.

Levi watched for a moment. So there was another difference between whatever species he was and the titans. He was drinking. Because he was thirsty.

Lucerne misinterpreted Levi's intense stare. "Oh, sorry, you want some water?" He murmured, taking another handful and holding it next to the man, forming a small pool for him.

Levi sighed, sitting forward with a cringe, cupping his hands into the water and raising it to his lips the same way Lucerne had. "Thank you." He murmured, also splashing his face a bit. He was covered in blood and dirt, he felt disgusting.

"Sure. Are you hungry? I am." He stood and looked around, holding a hand over his eyes to shield the sun.

Levi flinched at that, all the humans who he had ever witness die in the jaws of a titan flashing behind his eyes for a moment. He sighed, running a hand through his hair tiredly. "Yeah." He murmured.

Lucerne looked down at him, then knelt down, holding out his palm, smiling gently. "Come on, then."

Levi tiredly climbed into the boys' palm, his hand pressed against the wound in his side. He needed stitches. Blood had already seeped through his cape, which was no longer cool, and was simply irritating the wound. He cringed again, his eyes slowly closing.

"Are you alright?" Lucerne asked worriedly, walking away from the stream, back on course to the wall.

Levi blinked tiredly. "I'm not feeling so great." He replied weakly.

Lucerne furrowed his brow in worry, then let out a cry of alarm when a four meter titan surprised him, its jaws closing inches from Lucerne's hands, just narrowly missing Levi. Lucerne ducked, rolling underneath the beast and stumbling back to his feet, glancing down at Levi worriedly as the titan, an abnormal, raced onto his heels, keeping up with him. "I can't shake it off!" he cried.

Levi winced, clinging to Lucerne's thumb. All the rattling was making him feel ill, the pain in his side intensifying.

Lucerne tucked Levi into his pocket, buttoning it closed and leaping over some old rubble, the titan still on his heels. He slid to a halt, stepping to the side and the titan flew passed him, giving him a chance to turn and run the other way, panting, glancing over his shoulder as the abnormal continued to chase him.

It dove forward, its jaws latching onto Lucerne's leg and bringing him down. Lucerne folded his arms around his chest before he hit the ground, as he slid, praying Levi hadn't been crushed, tears in his eyes as the titan bit down on his leg. He kicked back at it, blood pouring from the wound, when suddenly, there was a little person, another human, flying through the air, blades tearing into the back of the titan's neck and killing it.

The humans were on horseback, shouting to one another and pointing at Lucerne.

"It's wearing clothes!? What the hell! That's the strangest abnormal I've ever seen, look how small it is!"

"And the other titan was chasing it!"

"We should capture it, for Section Commander Hange."

"No! We're out here to find Captain Levi, not capture test subjects, come on, keep moving!"

"Then why the hell did we save it from the other titan?" The humans rode off, glancing back.

"Maybe it'll still be alive next time we come out, but right now, we don't have time!"

And then they were gone.

Lucerne stared after them blearily, glancing back at the new wound on his leg, tears in his eyes. He moaned, supporting himself on his forearms to keep his weight off of Levi. "L-Levi… your friends are looking for you." He whispered painfully, rolling over onto his back. "Levi?" He wearily unbuttoned his pocket, glancing in at the man who appeared to be unconscious.

"N-no… don't be dead, please don't be dead." Lucerne whispered, gently pulling the man out and holding his small, limp body to his face, his breath held. He could feel the tiny pitter-patter of his heart against his skin, but he had no idea if it was weak or not. He had nothing to go by. He let out the breath he'd been holding, glad the man was still alive, at least.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his thumb smoothing over the man's back. "I don't think I can walk…" he closed his eyes in pain, and just lay there for a while, holding his little friend gently.

**AN: So the Levi Squad went right passed them. Do you think Levi and Lucerne will be okay? Reviews are much appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

"We searched high and low all around the area we lost him, where could he possibly be?" Petra whispered, sadly looking down at the broken equipment they had found. It had blood all over it, and was most definitely his gear. Her hold on the reigns tightened a bit, tears threatening to form.

"He's gone, Petra." Gunther murmured sadly.

"N-no! I won't accept that!" Petra cried, the tears finally falling.

"You have to." Mikasa told her quietly, despite her hatred for the captain, trying not to be heartless. She could tell the girl was very fond of the captain, but she needed her to be realistic, now that her optimism wore off it was nothing more than denial.

Petra glared at her through her tears. "Why do you hate him so much!? Captain Levi was a good man!" She cried.

"I'm not saying that out of spite! I'm just being realistic! We found his horse with blood splattered on the saddle, and we found his gear smashed to bits and covered in blood, you tell me what else that could mean!" Mikasa snapped.

Petra stared at her, trembling, fist clenched, before her shoulders drooped and she looked down, tears in her eyes.

Armin was silent, his eyes ahead. "Hey guys… that abnormal we saw earlier is still there…" he murmured after a moment, pointing. "It hasn't healed…"

"That's strange." Gunther murmured. "Did it get hit in the neck?"

"If it had, it would be decaying like the other one." Armin pointed to the bigger titan that Mikasa had taken down earlier, which was nothing more than bones now.

"Well, it is an abnormal…" Gunther replied, eyeing it carefully. They slowed their horses, about five meters away. It didn't move.

Armin furrowed his brow, turning his horse inwards and trotting closer, stopping and jumping down.

"Armin!" Mikasa hissed. "Get back on your horse, it's dangerous!"

"Hold on Mikasa… trust me…" Armin called back softly, slowly moving closer. "It's so small…" He murmured.

"Arlert! Get back on your horse!" Oluo ordered, pulling back on his reins.

Armin paused, uncertain, but there was a gut feeling… he chose to ignore the order, timidly taking another step towards it, slowly reaching out his hand and touching it. His eyes widened. "It's breathing…" He whispered, then turned his eyes to the creature's hands. There were… legs? Little legs, human legs.

Armin looked away, removing his hand. He didn't want to see the body of a scout. He'd had a gut feeling that this abnormal was slightly more abnormal than just wearing clothes, but now, if it had a dead human it was just like the others.

"What do you see, Arlert?" Eld called, keeping the others at a distance. If Arlert wanted to be stupid and get that close to the thing, he was fine to do so.

"I-I'm not sure." Armin murmured, very slowly, very carefully climbing onto the creatures' stomach, his eyes locked on the titans' face, which was unusually human-like. Armin moved forward, taking hold of the human ankle and pulling a bit. The leg was attached to a body, at least. He let out a sigh of relief, not really wanting to see a severed leg. He moved forward some more, catching a glimpse of black hair under the titan's fingers. He pried them apart, then gasped. It was Captain Levi!

Acting quickly, Armin pulled the captain free, holding the small mans' upper body in his lap and staring at his face in shock. There was a collective gasp from the others.

"Is that… the captain?"

"Oh my god! Is he alive?" Petra cried, galloping her horse closer with wide eyes.

Armin put his head to Levi's chest, hearing his heart beating weakly. "He's alive!" He called, sliding down from the titan, half-carrying, half-dragging the limp man over to the others and with a grunt, he managed to get the captain up onto his horse with sheer willpower and adrenaline. "Come on, he's weak, we need to get him back to a doctor!"

"What about the abnormal? It protected him from the other titan, we can't just leave it here to die!" Petra cried.

"Are you nuts? It didn't kill him, that doesn't mean it was protecting him! It's an abnormal, who knows why it didn't eat him yet!" Mikasa cried.

"Mikasa, this is the strangest abnormal I've ever heard of or seen, there's so much we can learn from him!" Armin protested, climbing onto his horse behind the captain, who was completely limp. "Half of you need to stay here and protect him until we can get some more scouts out here to safely capture him!" He kicked his horse into action. "Mikasa, Eld, Oluo, stay and protect the titan! Gunther, Petra, come with me!"

There was a moment where Armin thought the others were going to disobey, but then, Gunther and Petra were racing on his heels, the others reluctantly staying behind to watch over the abnormal.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Halfway back to the wall, Levi woke up, turning his head to look up at Armin blearily, and the boy glanced at him, adjusting his hold around the man. "Captain Levi, you're safe now." He informed him strongly, slowing his horse as he reached the gate, which slowly lifted for them.

"No! Armin, where's Mikasa!?" Eren cried, running up to them immediately. He had been waiting for their return anxiously.

"Where's the rest of your squad?" Another commanding officer demanded.

"Sir! They are fine, sir! They're protecting a titan that I request permission to capture, sir!" Armin announced, gently handing Levi down to some scouts, who rushed him off to a doctor.

"What? Are you out of your mind, Arlert? This was a rescue mission only, your orders were to find Captain Levi, nothing else!"

"Sir, you might want to consider it." Petra interrupted. "This titan protected Captain Levi from another titan. He's unlike any abnormal I've ever seen."

Hange, who was nearby, was practically foaming at the mouth. "Well what are we waiting for?" She cried, diving onto a horse. "YAHOOOO!"

"Wait, dammit, you don't know where you're going!" Gunther cried, racing after her.

"Sir, he's smaller than any titan I've ever seen, too. He's only about one and a half meters tall." Armin reported. "We could fit him into a wagon to bring him back. Also… he's unconscious… injured and he's not healing. If he were to put up a fight, which I don't think he will… he wouldn't be too hard to restrain."

The commanding officer looked uncertain, then nodded, calling for a wagon to get hooked up. He turned back to Armin, looking at him uncertainly before walking off.

"Alright, follow me!"

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Meanwhile, back at the site of the small titan, Mikasa had just taken down a six meter titan that had wandered too close. "This is ridiculous." She muttered, swiping blood off her face. "Protecting this titan from other titans."

Oluo was leaning languidly against the unconscious titan's arm, unbothered. "My my, from the way you put it, all titans are bad. Does that include your little boyfriend Jaeger?"

Mikasa's eyes darkened, but there was a noticeable reddening to her cheeks.

"Oh boy… look alive, people. You-know-who is here." Eld interrupted, pointing to Section Commander Hange who was barreling in on horse-back, practically diving off the instant she was near enough.

"Ohh, look at him! He's marvelous! Clothing! A titan wearing clothing! How simply marvelous!" She cried, climbing up onto the small titan's chest and crying out in delight as she felt herself rise and fall with it. "And he's breathing, too!"

"You're a maniac." Oluo muttered, moving away in annoyance.

"Section Commander, you're too close!" Gunther cried, finally catching up, pulling his horse up.

Commander Hange was straddling the titan's neck, her hands on his chin, staring at his lovely face like he was a piece of savoury meat. "Hello beautiful. Can you hear me? My name is Hange Zoë. Do you have a name?"

"It's out cold, Hange, has been ever since we got here." Oluo muttered, inspecting his nails.

"Interesting." Hange murmured, crawling onto the small titan's face and pushing open one of its eyelids, staring into the large, beautiful black eye. "What pretty eyes you have!" She complimented.

"Insane." Mikasa muttered under her breath, her arms crossed.

"Here comes the wagon!" Gunther cried, and Hange looked delighted.

"Yes! Let's get you somewhere more comfortable, my dear." She slid down from the titan's face, watching as the team of scouts began loading the titan onto the uncovered wagon, with minimal effort. He was about as light as normal titans. "Would you look at that; so small that with his knees curled to his chest, he doesn't even hang off the back of the wagon." She murmured, her eyes gleaming.

"Shouldn't we have the thing secured better? What if it wakes while we're en route?" One of the scouts in charge of the wagon asked timidly.

"This whole thing is poorly thought out, soldier. We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it." Oluo muttered, hopping onto his horse while the others did the same.

"Right, straight to the old scout regiment HQ, then."

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"Don't nail him in, look at his wound! It still hasn't healed, we don't know what kind of damage that could do to him!" Hange screamed at a frightened scout.

"Well how the hell else are we going to secure him!?"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN JUST FIND SOMETHING LESS HARMFUL TO HIM!" Hange was practically foaming at the mouth again, running around and giving orders, telling them to handle the titan with care while the others watched in unease.

"Armin, are you sure this is worth the risk?" Mikasa muttered.

"Risk? Mikasa, this is hardly the first titan we've captured alive in the name of science." Armin glanced at her, brow furrowed. "Surely you knew that? But then… that's not what's really bothering you… is it?"

Mikasa glanced at him, her jaw set in a straight line, then back at the titan that the scouts were tying to the ground, spikes in the ropes rather than the beasts' flesh. "Perhaps." She murmured. "But I still think this one isn't as safe as you want to believe it is. Just because it didn't eat Captain Levi yet when we found them doesn't mean it wasn't going to."

Armin chewed on his lip, silently watching as the titan's wound was dressed carefully, and Hange was standing on its chest again, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "It wears clothing… I wonder…" She turned, staring at the titan's legs, or rather between them. "Do you suppose that this titan covers himself because he has something to cover?"

"HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!" One of the scouts cried, all of them blushing furiously as the woman poked her head under the hem of the titan's pants.

"Son of a bitch that's a big-"

Armin clapped his hands over his ears, cringing. 'A titan with reproductive organs?' He thought, staring at the ground, the heels of his hands still firmly over his ears. 'How is this possible… even Eren, who is human, takes on the full titan physique when in titan form…'

"Armin." Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder. "It's waking…"

Armin looked up, his hands dropping to his sides as the titan's big eyes slowly began to open, his head turning a bit, but restricted by the ropes around his neck. He moaned a bit, trying to move, but his limbs were firmly secured.

The scouts surrounding had their blades ready, but the small titan showed no signs of being able to break the bonds, let alone even try to.

"Hello beautiful! How are you today? Do you have a name?" Hange asked, and the titan tipped his head back a bit to look at her.

"Hi…"

Everyone gasped and tensed a bit, Armin's eyes widening. "It can talk!"

Hange looked like she could fly using her happiness as fuel. "Hello! Do you have a name?" She repeated, drooling a bit.

"Yes… Lucerne…" The titan's eyes moved slowly to a nearby scout, who was trembling, eyes wide.

"Lucerne? Like the flower? How marvellous! Do you know who we are?" Hange asked.

"People… little people… humans…" Lucerne murmured, blinking tiredly, then his eyes widened and he tried to raise his head, staring at his chest, choking a bit from the ropes. "Levi! Where is Levi?" He cried, looking frantic, and the scouts looked nervous as he began pulling against his bonds more strongly.

"How lovely, he has already become possessive of the captain." Hange said to herself, stroking her chin. "Ah, you want your doll back, yes? Not to worry Lucerne, Captain Levi is being cared for right now, he is in good hands." Hange inched a bit closer, jumping back a bit when Lucerne swung his head to look at her, but rather than lunge and bite like her other test subjects always did, all he did was stare.

"Did you save him from that other titan because you wanted him for yourself? Did you intend to fatten him up and then eat him, or were you just saving him for later?" Hange asked, leaning forward a bit with a manic grin.

Lucerne furrowed his brow. "No…" he responded slowly, looking confused.

"Ah, but don't you enjoy feasting? Isn't it part of your instinctual knowledge?" Hange asked. "Perhaps you like to play with your food before you eat it?"

"'instinctual knowledge', yes… but… I don't eat people."

There was another collective gasp.

"A titan that doesn't eat humans? Impossible!" A scout cried.

"This is indeed the most bizarre abnormal we've ever found." Armin murmured, Mikasas' hand still on his shoulder, as they had been staring at the scene, frozen to the spot. The titan was responding to Hange's questions as easily as any human being ever would, and seemed so far rather auspicious in nature. "A titan with the full physical attributes, knowledge, and personality of an average human…"

"Where is Levi?" Lucerne asked again, looking nervous.

"Ah, don't worry my dear, as I said before he's being cared for." Hange patted the titans' hand.

"Why am I tied up?" Lucerne asked, moving a bit again to demonstrate how constricted he felt.

"Just a precaution dear, we don't want you going all titan on us." Hange told him in a sugary voice, walking around him slowly, inspecting him.

"What…?" Lucerne's eyes followed her as she slowly climbed onto his chest, smiling delightedly.

"Section Commander, it was one thing when it was unconscious, now you're just too damn close!" A scout cried.

Hange, while everyone watched with bated breath, slowly approached the titan's face, and stood on his chin. He kept perfectly still, staring up at her, his mouth inches from where she stood, and he did not move.

"What…?" Armin breathed, astounded. "She's practically putting herself between his teeth, he's not doing anything about it…" Armin glanced at Mikasa, who was staring with unknown emotions on her face. She was being proven wrong right before everyone's eyes, Armin could only wonder what was going through her head at the moment.

"Good boy!" Hange cried delightedly, moving over to sit on his cheek, patting the bridge of his nose encouragingly.

Everyone freaked out when the titans' mouth began to open, and even Section Commander Hange slid a bit away from his lips, her smile fading, but all he did was speak.

"Can you not sit on my face? Rude." Lucerne sighed, tipping his head lightly and causing Hange to slide harmlessly back to her feet on the ground beside his head.

"OOOHH! He's marvellous!" Hange squealed, not noticing as a couple scouts lunged forward and snatched her back, pulling her a safe distance away, and everyone let out the breaths they were holding.

"If it weren't before my eyes, I don't think I'd believe it." Armin murmured.

"Don't give me that crap. You're the one who believes in all those things outside the walls." Mikasa muttered, her hand finally sliding from his shoulder, her arms crossing.

"Well if we can't believe in it, what is there to believe in?" Armin sat down, his eyes still on the small titan and Section Commander Hange, but his mind was drifting off to all the wonderful things that were out there, just waiting to be seen. "But this is even more unbelievable than any of those things, as fairy-tale as they sound… for over a hundred years, mankind has known one thing and one thing only: titans eat us. Lucerne is causing us to question that."

Mikasa slowly sat beside him, her eyes as usual not displaying what she was thinking inside, but Armin knew her well. He furrowed his brow, watching her. "You're still not convinced, are you? Why don't you go down and talk to him yourself? I'm sure Second Commander Hange would let you, probably want to see how he interacts with different people. Heck, I think I want to talk to him." He stood, offering her his hand with a smile.

She stared up at him, then sighed, allowing him to help her stand, and they walked over to Hange together.

"I'm hungry," Lucerne was saying. "I haven't eaten in days, if I don't eat soon you people are going to start looking tasty," he said sarcastically, looking a bit put-off.

Several of the scouts shuddered. "For the love of God, someone get him something to eat before he eats us instead!"

Someone ran off to try and find something that would satisfy the beast.

"So you have to eat to survive?" Armin spoke up, coming to stand beside Section Commander Hange, who was staring at Lucerne as if she had met her one true love.

The titan turned his head, staring at Armin who stared back, not letting his nervousness be apparent. "Of course…" Lucerne responded, as if Armin were silly for asking.

"It's just that we've never come across a titan before that requires food for nourishment. Other titans appear to survive solely on sunlight." Armin continued.

Lucerne rolled his eyes, turning his head straight to stare up at the sky. "There you people go again, assuming just because I'm a little bigger than you that I'm a titan."

Armin's eyes widened. "You're saying you're… not a titan?"

Hange was bouncing up and down excitedly. "A new species?! Ohhhhh, how marvellous…" She giggled maniacally, her eyes shining.

"Prove it." Mikasa suddenly growled.

Lucerne's black eyes turned to her for a moment, then furrowed his brow. "How?"

Mikasa drew her sword, then moved steadily towards Lucerne, who eyed her nervously.

"Mikasa, what are you doing?" Armin cried, reaching out to snag her shoulder but she shrugged him off.

She cried out, pulling back her sword and charging for Lucerne.

"NOOOO!" Hange cried, eyes wide.

Mikasa swung the sword and Lucerne flinched, his wide eyes snapping shut, waiting for the cold sting. But it didn't come. His eyes slowly blinked open, his chest heaving, staring at the sword which was inches from his neck. Mikasa was panting, staring at him, and the others stood by, eyes wide.

Mikasa sighed, putting away her sword. "All right. I'm convinced." She murmured, walking away.

"Just how the hell did scaring him to death convince you he's not a titan?" Armin cried, following her as she walked off.

"Did you see how close I got to his mouth? He could have lunged for me, in self defence if nothing else. He didn't." She replied. "It doesn't prove he's not a titan physically, but it proves that he means us no harm. If he wasn't willing to hurt me even to save himself, then I'm convinced he is who he says he is."

Armin was impressed, though still slightly shaken. He'd thought she was going to actually kill Lucerne. He looked surprised when he spotted Captain Levi limping towards them, his side heavily bandaged. He looked to be having a rough time of walking.

Armin hurried forward, steadying the man. "Captain! What are you doing-?"

"He's wounded, we need to send someone out to help him!" He demanded, interrupting him.

"'Him', sir?" Armin asked, putting an arm around the small man when he leaned against him heavily, his face in pain. "You mean Lucerne?"

Captain Levi nodded tiredly. "A titan bit him, he can't survive out there wounded like that!"

"We captured him, sir. He's here in camp with us," Armin said.

Levi looked relieved, then tensed again. "They haven't hurt him, have they, Arlert? Tell them not to hurt him… he's not a titan…" He murmured, looking exhausted.

"They're not hurting him, sir. You should really go back to the medical tent," Armin insisted, noticing two doctors running towards them.

"Sir, please don't run off like that, you're in no shape to be on your feet." One of them panted, taking the captain's arm and throwing it over his shoulder, the other doing the same on the other side and half-dragging, half-carrying the man away.

Armin and Mikasa stared after them, confused. "Either the captain lost a lot of blood and is a bit drunk from nausea, or he really cares about Lucerne…" Armin murmured.

"Hmph. The man has that much concern for a titan, but not for Eren?" Mikasa muttered.

"Mikasa, Lucerne isn't a titan… Eren kind of is."

Mikasa bristled at this, turning on her heel and storming off.

Armin stared after her, sighing softly. She'd come around eventually. She had to.

**AN: So, sorry it's been FOREVER X INFINITY since I updated. La vie est une chienne. (Life's a bitch) So what do you think is going to happen next ? What do you think of Levi desperate to make sure they know not to hurt Lucerne ?**


	4. Chapter 4

Armin spent the rest of the evening watching Hange interact with Lucerne, and he only stayed back because he was told to do so. He wanted to speak to Lucerne again, ask questions, but he contented himself in merely watching Hange sit on Lucerne's chest and carefully feed him bits of bread and meat that the scouts had returned with.

Armin found it quite funny that Lucerne complained every other bite that he wasn't a baby, that he wanted to feed himself, that if he wasn't allowed to sit up while eating he might choke, that his legs were going numb, that his head was starting to hurt, and all number of other things. He was simply fascinating to watch, and Armin could tell just from the little he knew, that this creature, this person, was very intelligent.

Finally, as the sky began to darken, Lucerne began to ask where he was to sleep.

"Just right here, my lovely," Hange told him, petting his hair. "Did you get enough to eat?"

"No," Lucerne replied mournfully. "If you'd let me go I could go out and get something proper to eat."

"I wish I could my dear, but not yet." Hange continued to pet his hair. "Would you like a blanket? We have tarps that will cover you, it might get cold."

"Please, thanks," he agreed, yawning.

Armin yawned too, and decided it was time to head in. He dreamed of Lucerne that night, and the dream was confusing, and he woke up in a cold sweat early the next morning, not remembering a single detail.

The next morning, right as the sun was coming up, Armin checked to make sure there weren't any scout drills or anything he had to take care of, before immediately heading over to first check on Levi, who was fast asleep still, and doing fine, and then over to Lucerne, who was wide awake, and calmly playing with the ropes he'd freed himself from the night before.

Armin slowed his approach when he noted that Lucerne was free, but he didn't stop going towards him.

"Lucerne?" He asked softly, looking around for the scouts who were supposed to be guarding him.

"Shh, they fell fast asleep about an hour ago," Lucurne whispered, raising a finger to his lips and nodding to the two guards who were slumped against each other, snoring in sync.

Armin's eyes flicked to them, and then back to Lucerne, who was cradling section commander Hange in one arm. She was smiling in her sleep, also snoring lightly.

"She couldn't bear to leave me I guess." Lucerne smiled down at her in his hand. "Slept in my pocket. Is Levi okay? I'd of gone to check on him myself, but I didn't want to needlessly alarm anyone."

Armin nodded, still approaching very slowly, until he was standing by Lucerne's legs, which were crossed and folded under him. He reached over and Armin flinched, but all he did was hand one end of the rope to him, then stretched up his arm to see how long to rope was, but sitting, he was too short to pull it to its full length.

Armin watched him curiously, thinking. Lucerne was just playing. He was fiddling, pacifying boredom. And he was free from the bonds, but he was staying put, even with nothing to keep him there other than the knowledge that the humans wouldn't be too happy if he moved.

Armin noted that the ropes actually weren't torn. They had been untied, very neatly, and the other ropes were all coiled in a neat pile in front of Lucerne. This creature, whatever species he was, showed great amounts of intelligence, and Armin began to wonder if he might in fact be smarter even than humans.

"How long have you been free, Lucerne?" Armin asked softly, carefully sitting down.

"Free from what? My family or the ropes?" he asked with a clever gleam in his eyes, smiling and carefully coiling the rope around his finger, using only his other fingers on that hand. The other still gently held Hange, as though she were a treasured pet he didn't want to wake.

Armin smiled at that. "From the ropes," he clarified.

"I started working myself free when they fell asleep, so about an hour." He replied, looking up when two more guards, the ones who were supposed to be taking over for the sleeping ones, suddenly showed up, then cried out in alarm when they noted that Lucerne was free.

Armin jumped up, putting himself between Lucerne and the two scouts. "It's fine! He's just been sitting here, behaving, for the past hour, he's not a threat!" Armin cried, and the scouts, stricken with fear, began to back away, their swords drawn.

The commotion woke Hange, who sat up, yawning, then yelped when she noted that Lucerne was free.

"Oh my!" She cried, her eyes flooding with delight. "You had a chance to wreak havoc on all of us and you didn't! Oh how marvellous!"

Lucerne appeared to be either amused, confused, or a mixture of the two. He gently set Hange down, who was staring up at him with gleaming eyes. "I had wondered how we would test to see if it was safe to have you untied. Now we don't have to."

"All due respect, section commander, but having it loose is a safety risk I'm not willing to take," a voice from behind them said, and Armin and the others turned and stood at attention when commander Erwin entered the clearing, accompanied by a squad of soldiers who surrounded Lucerne swiftly.

_"It?" _Lucerne cried, offended. He began to stand, but was incapacitated by the squad before he could even gain his balance. Hange and Armin jumped back to avoid being squished when Lucerne hit the ground, unconscious from the blow to the head.

"No, no, nonono, don't do that! What are you doing?!" Armin cried, alarmed and outraged as he watched the soldiers begin to secure Lucerne to a wagon. "Where are you taking him?!"

Hange was bordering hysterical. "Are you crazy?! He'll never trust us again! No, careful, you'll hurt him! You have no say in this Erwin! Capture and research is _my_ jurisdiction!"

"Word of this sentient titan has reached the king's ears, and he wants it to be moved somewhere more secure than this, to be interrogated and possibly stand trial for crimes against humanity."

"Lucerne is not a titan!" Hange and Armin protested at once, and Hange grabbed Erwin by the front of his cloak, yanking him down to eye level. "I'm not letting you take him!"

Erwin shoved her away easily, fixing his jacket with a glare. "I'm afraid you have no say in the matter."

Armin, in the meanwhile, was feeling mounds of guilt. After all, he had insisted that they capture Lucerne.

Suddenly, Levi appeared, getting up in Erwin's face shamelessly. "You can't put him on trial for crimes he has no connection to whatsoever! He doesn't even eat humans! He's just as afraid of titans as we are!"

Erwin looked annoyed. "Go back to the medical tent, Levi."

Levi square his shoulders, a defiant glint in his eyes. "No."

"Levi, do not make me assign you an escort."

Levi clenched his fists. "He's not even a titan, Erwin!"

"So it says."

"No. So **_I_** say," Levi jabbed his finger into Erwin's chest, angry, "and I think I've more than earned the right to have my opinion considered! _Listen,_ damn it!"

Erwin sighed softly, rubbing his temples for a moment. "I'm sorry, Levi." He signalled for the soldiers to continue loading Lucerne up, and they started moving away.

"That's it?!" Levi cried, hobbling after them on his crutches. "Bullshit! I deserve more than just an apology, Erwin! Lucerne is harmless! Taking out our anger with the titans on him isn't going to accomplish anything!"

"I _will_ get you an escort, Levi. Don't test me."

"If you really think this is necessary, at least let me be a part of it! I know him better than any of you, at least let me defend him! He deserves that at least,**_ I_** deserve that at least! Damn it Erwin!"

"Fine!" Erwin snarled, rounding on the smaller man angrily. "If that will shut you up, then fine!"

"Commander Erwin! I'd like to come along as a witness, if I may?" Armin said on a whim, running after them, watching a soldier help a vaguely triumphant Levi climb into the wagon.

Erwin grunted in reply, jerking his head to indicate that Armin tag along, and he did so with a quickened stride.

Lucerne was kept heavily sedated until the best blacksmiths within the wall had finished making special cuffs and chains to fit him, which took less than a day and a half because they were rushed.

When Lucerne finally woke, he was very groggy, and looked around in confusion. He was chained to the floor of a highly secure prison cell. There was a small, barred window that shed light into the cold room, and at first glance, he was unable to locate the door.

"Hello?" He whimpered, feeling panic set in. "Hello?!" He attempted to stand, but hit the ground in an instant, the chains around his ankles stopping him short. "Levi?!"

Feeling alone and betrayed, Lucerne crawled back to the furthest corner of the cell and hugged his knees. He didn't see anyone for the rest of the day, and cried himself to sleep.

Armin did his best to be a mere observer, and not get in the way. He did, however, object to the suggestion that Lucerne be interrogated on the source of the titans. He wasn't sure if his protests were in vain, but he made them anyway. There was no way he was going to just stand by on something of that sort.

Levi pestered Erwin all day about the uncalled-for harsh treatment of Lucerne, but all he could negotiate was that Lucerne wouldn't miss any meals, so long as he cooperated. He had tried to get a meeting with him, but had failed miserably, and planned to give Erwin exactly forty-eight hours to decide to allow it before he began attempting to sneak a meeting anyway.

Levi went to sleep that night on the floor, to protest the fact that Erwin refused to have a bed made for the gentle boy. There wasn't much else Levi had control over. All he could think of was how he was alive now only because he had met Lucerne. Sleeping on the floor was the absolute least he could do to repay him.

**AN: There's been some confusion on Lucerne's height. Forgive me, I don't work with the metric system often. His height is ****3****.****4**** meters (just over ****eleven ****feet, if you stack two people of average height, they'd be a little taller than him).**** Sorry this chapter is so short. I've been very busy, and have had a particular lack of motivation to write. Please tell me what you want to happen, I need inspiration ! Thank you for your reviews, and I do hope you'll continue to leave them.**


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